Iliiinill! 


Sill 


Hi  WW  Mi 


UC-NRLF 


$B    ebb    5EM 


LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 


Class 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

IVIicrosoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/consecratedwomanOOmarvrich 


Fi've  hundred    copies    of  this 

edition  have  been  printed 

from  type  in  the  month 

of  August,  jgoj 

by  the  Gilliss 

Press 


Con0ecrateu  Woman|iool> 


ConsecrateD  l^otnanfiooli 

PREACHED  IN 

^\)t  iFtot  Consregational  C^urcti 

PORTLAND,  OREGON 
BY 

FREDERIC  ROWLAND  MARVIN 

WITH  AN  INTRODUCTORY  NOTICE 
BY 

FRANCES  POWER  COBBE 


NEW    YORK 

J.   O.   WRIGHT  &  COMPANY 

MDCCCCIII 


WQ. 


^^C^-cr:^   <^ 


<>~^-^  ~>^,-.^-.^-ezz. 


^"tLAf, 


SntroDuctorr  ^otict 


/Jff^O  those  who  have  long  lamented  the 
VK  prevailing  tendency  in  Christian 
churches  to  deny  to  women  the  hon- 
ors and  responsibilities  of  sacred  offices  and 
duties,  such  a  sermon  as  "  Consecrated  Wo- 
manhood," written  by  an  American  clergy- 
man, is  like  a  breath  of  fresh  air  in  Neapoli- 
tan church-buildings  that  have  never  known 
the  beauty  of  sunlight,  and  the  atmospheres 
of  which  have  grown  heavy  through  the  cen- 
turies with  the  oppressive  weight  of  suffocat- 
ing incense. 

The  preacher  opens  his  discourse  with  the 
statement  that  "the  Bible  honored  woman 
when  every  other  book  was  blind  to  the  true 
dignity  of  her  character."  Scholars  differ, 
and  little   is  certain  when  we  go    back  far 


143185 


iflncrouuctor^  0otitt 

enough  in  the  ancient  writings  of  our  race. 
But  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  in  all 
the  earliest  literatures  of  which  we  have 
knowledge,  the  thought  of  the  world  was 
more  favorable  to  the  development  of  wo- 
manly independence,  than  in  later  composi- 
tions, especially  such  as  have  come  from 
patristic  and  monastic  sources.  Certainly  we 
find  the  great  Greek  tragedians  unfolding 
their  noblest  ideals  in  the  character  of  an 
Alcestis,  and  expressing  through  the  lips  of  an 
Antigone  their  loftiest  conceptions  of  virtue, 
and  their  purest  and  bravest  ethical  teachings. 
The  Jews  did  not  stand  alone,  as  this  elo- 
quent sermon  clearly  shows,  in  honoring 
woman  ;  but  the  Old  Testament  is  devoid, 
as  its  most  careless  reader  cannot  but  see,  of 
all  that  wretched  admiration  for  feminine 
feebleness  of  mind  and  body  which  seems  to 
have  sprung  from  masculine  vanity,  and  has 
been  fostered  by  centuries  of  priestly  instruc- 
tion and  popular  superstition.  As  the  most 
illustrious  Jewess  now  living.  Lady  Batter- 
sea,  wrote  in  her  admirable  book  some  years 
ago,  when  she  was  Miss  Constance  de  Roths- 


idntroDuctor^  Jliottte 

child, "  The  ideal  woman  of  the  ancient  Israel- 
ite was  always  strong  and  fearless — a  Miriam, 
a  Deborah,  a  Judith,  an  Esther.  Not  a  word 
in  that  older  Bible  denies  to  woman  the  right 
to  exercise  every  power  of  speech  or  action 
granted  her  by  Jehovah." 

Nothing  assuredly  can  be  more  broad- 
minded  or  more  generous  than  Dr.  Marvin's 
whole  treatment  of  the  claims  of  women, 
whether  in  politics,  in  the  religious  life,  or  in 
the  domestic  circle.  In  my  humble  opinion 
it  would  do  infinite  service  in  awakening 
thought  and  dispelling  prejudice,  could  the 
sermon  on  "  Consecrated  Womanhood  "  be 
preached  in  every  church  and  chapel  in  Eng- 
land. The  good  Quakers  alone,  so  far  as  I 
know,  have  no  need  for  its  admonition. 

Frances  Power  Cobbe. 


Hengwrt, 

Dolgelly,  North  Wales, 
June  21,  1903. 


Conisectateti   (EOomani^ood 


**  She  layeth  her  hands  to  the  spindle,  and  her  hands  hold  the 
distaff.  She  stretcheth  out  her  hand  to  the  poor  ;  yea,  she  reacheth 
out  her  hands  to  the  needy.  Strength  and  honor  are  her  clothing ; 
and  she  shall  rejoice  in  time  to  come.  She  openeth  her  mouth  with 
wisdom  J  and  in  her  tongue  is  the  law  of  kindness.*' — Proverbs. 

tf^jT  IS  the  peculiarity  of  the  Bible  that  it 
^J  honored  woman  when  every  other 
^^^  book  was  blind  to  the  true  dignity  of 
her  character  and  the  royal  possibilities  of  her 
nature.  The  old  Testament  exalted  her  not 
only  as  wife  and  mother,  but  as  citizen  and 
ruler,  and  some  of  the  most  stirring  songs  and 
daring  deeds  of  patriotism  are  recorded  in  the 
Bible  to  the  honor  of  woman.  Her  inspired 
pen  is  immortalized  in  the  Word  of  God,  and 
if  it  be  not  meet  that  her  voice  sound  from 
the  halls  of  Congress,  it  is  a  fact  of  history 
that  it  was  heard  on  the  field  of  battle  and  in 
the  chamber  of  justice  more  than  three  thou- 


Con0ecraceo  momandooD 

sand  years  ago,  when,  by  the  mouth  of  De- 
borah and  the  hand  of  Jael,  the  Lord  deliv- 
ered Israel  from  the  power  of  the  spoiler. 
She  may  not  be  thought  competent  to  have 
part  in  framing  the  laws  of  a  State,  but  she 
was  competent  to  judge  the  chosen  people  and 
to  mould  the  character  of  the  world's  Re- 
deemer. 

The  conservative  who  would  obstruct  the 
wheels  of  progress  endeavors  to  accomplish 
his  end  by  an  appeal  to  the  Bible.  Sacred 
Scriptures  were  represented  as  the  friend  of 
slavery  ;  they  are  now  cited  in  defense  of 
Papal  idolatry  and  Mormon  impurity  ;  and 
how  often  we  hear  them  quoted  against  the 
emancipation  of  woman.  But  the  Bible  is  the 
most  radical  book  in  all  the  world,  and  its 
maxims  of  wisdom  and  virtue  are  in  advance 
of  every  age.  Whatever  has  been  accom- 
plished for  the  improvement  of  woman's  lot 
may  be  traced  to  its  hallowed  influence.  "  It 
found  her  the  slave  of  man's  appetite  in  the 
East,  the  servant  of  his  cupidity  in  the  West, 
and  the  victim  of  his  cruelty  in  the  South," 
and  it  broke  the  chain  that  bound  her  soul  in 


Consecrated  TOomantiooD 

darkness  and  the  social  fetters  that  linked  her 
womanhood  with  dishonor. 

We  have  in  the  Bible  pictures  of  womanly 
tenderness  and  nobleness,and  also  of  womanly- 
debasement  unequaled  in  secular  literature.  I 
know  how  exalted  are  the  women  of  Homer 
—"The Heroes'  Battle- Prize,"  "The Heav- 
enly-Minded," "The  Sought-For,"  "The 
Sister  of  Heroes,"  "  The  Widely-Praised," 
"Ruling  by  Beauty,"  "  The  Far-Thoughted," 
"The  Hospitable,"  "The  Ship-Guider," 
and  "The  Web-Raveler  " — names  that  indi- 
cate the  queenly  beauty  of  the  women  who 
bore  them ;  but  I  search  Iliad  and  Odyssey 
in  vain  for  one  trace  of  that  glorified  char- 
acter, sublime  self-sacrifice  and  unwavering 
faith  which  "  crowned  the  daughters  of  Israel 
and  made  them  daughters  of  Jehovah."  On 
the  other  hand,  Shakspeare's  "  Lady  Mac- 
beth "  is  weakness  itself  when  compared  with 
Jezebel,  who  from  the  harem  of  Ahab 
mounted  with  blood-stained  feet  the  throne 
of  God's  chosen  people,  and  there  defied  the 
majesty  of  heaven.  How  cold,  cruel,  impla- 
cable and  lost  to  all  that  is  human  was  that 

'3 


Consetratet)  Womanl^ooD 

accursed  daughter  of  murder,  whose  crimes 
were  far  greater  in  number  and  turpitude 
than  those  of  her  infamous  father  Ethbaal. 
We  hear  from  her  lips  no  cry, 

**Come,  you  spirits 
That  tend  on  mortal  thoughts,  unsex  me  here  ; 
And  fill  me,  from  crown  to  the  toe,  top-full 
Of  direst  cruelty  !  make  thick  my  blood, 
Stop  up  the  access  and  passage  to  remorse 
That  no  compunctious  visitings  of  nature 
Shake  my  fell  purpose  !" 

Her  entire  nature  was  not  only  unsexed,  but 
dehumanized.  In  her  "  woman's  breasts  " 
the  milk  was  turned  to  gall. 

Lord  Lytton,  the  elegant  and  shallow 
trifler,  tells  us,  "  A  woman's  noblest  station 
is  retreat,"  but  "retreat"  is  a  word  forever  un- 
popular with  the  women  of  the  Bible.  Mi- 
riam, Huldah,  Deborah  and  Anna  were  not 
of  Lord  Lytton's  opinion.  They  joined  in 
one  temperament  silk  and  steel,  and  added  to 
the  sweetness  of  womanhood  the  strength  of 
manhood.  Keen  and  flexible  as  the  Damascus 
blade,  they  were  not  wanting  in  the  gentle- 
ness and  modesty  which  are  a  woman's  crown 


Cons^ecrateH  OToman^oD 

of  honor.  I  open  Exodus  and  read  a  song 
from  Miriam,  the  prophetess,  that  Is  older 
than  the  most  ancient  pagan  lyric,  and  that 
will  continue  when  English  literature  is  for- 
gotten. And  there  is  Deborah,  the  nurse  of 
Rebecca;  how  tenderly  the  Bible  records 
her  humble  but  faithful  service.  In  ancient 
times  and  in  the  East  nurses  were  held  in 
greater  esteem  than  now  with  us.  Homer 
sang  their  praise ;  Virgil  celebrated  their  vir- 
tues ;  and  Ovid  extolled  their  wisdom  and 
kindness.  It  is  no  trivial  office  to  guide  and 
direct  the  development  of  a  child's  life.  The 
nurse  is  second  mother,  and  her  influence  is 
sometimes,  perhaps  often,  deathless  as  the 
soul  she  instructs.  The  Bible  teaches  respect 
and  consideration  for  those  who  are  socially 
beneath  us  as  servants,  nurses,  and  dependent 
children  of  humble  toil.  The  true  lady  takes 
her  politeness  into  the  kitchen  ;  it  is  her  abil- 
ity to  do  so  that  makes  her  the  lady  she  is. 
Not  fine  manners  in  the  ball-room,  but  a  gen- 
uine and  gracious  dignity  seasoned  with  wo- 
manly kindness,  creates  the  true  lady.  Few 
think  of  the  Bible  as  a  bookof  social  and  do- 


mestic  etiquette,  and  yet  such  it  is.  Let  a  man 
follow  its  precepts,  and  he  shall  become  not 
only  a  good  man, but  a  gentleman  ;  and  what- 
ever woman  will  conform  to  the  spirit  of  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount  shall  find  her  life 
steadily  developing  into  all  that  makes  a 
beautiful  character  and  fine  address. 

And  there  is  the  other  Deborah,  a  prophet- 
ess and  judge  in  Israel — the  woman  divinely 
illuminated.  I  turn  to  the  fifth  chapter  of 
Judges,  and  read  a  song  she  wrote  long  be- 
fore the  gods  of  Greece  held  sacred  counsel 
upon  snowy  Olympus — centuries  before  the 
lyric  muse  took  up  her  abode  beneath  the 
shadow  of  the  Parthenon.  To  what  glori- 
ous victory  she  led  the  hosts  of  the  Lord 
when  the  enemies  of  Israel  perished  among 
the  "  oaks  of  the  wanderers.** 

"  After  the  days  of  Shamgar,  son  of  Anath, 
After  the  Helper' s  days, 
The  highways  were  deserted. 
The  traveler  went  in  winding  ways. 
Deserted  were  Israel's  hamlets,  deserted. 
Till  I  Deborah  rose  up— rose  up  a  mother  in  Israel." 

What  a  lovely  poem  is  that  of  Ruth,  and 
who  does  not  linger  with  delight  over  the 

i6 


Con^ecratet)  Woman^ooD 

story  of  Esther,  so  royal  and  so  simple,  so 
queenly  and  so  modest  ? 

Turn  to  the  New  Testament  and  see  how 
honored  is  Mary,  the  mother  of  Jesus.  Hear 
the  angelic  salutation : 

Hail,  thou  art  highly  favored,  the  Lord  is  with  thee. 
Fear  not,  Mary  :  for  thou  hast  found  favor  with  God.  And 
behold,  thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy  womb  and  bring  forth  a 
son,  and  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great,  and 
shall  be  called  the  Son  of  the  Most  High  :  and  the  Lord 
God  shall  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David  :  and 
he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  forever  :  and  of  his 
kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end.  (Luke  i :  28,  30—33,  Re- 
vised Version.) 

Is  it  surprising  that  the  name  "  Mary  "  is 
the  most  popular  in  all  the  world,  and  that 
nearly  a  third  of  the  women  of  France  bear  it 
in  one  form  or  another  ?  What  noble  ser- 
vice was  rendered  to  the  early  churches  by 
the  four  daughters  of  Philip  the  Evangelist, 
Priscilla  who  instructed  Apollos,  Phoebe, 
Persis,  Tryphosa  and  Tryphena. 

The  opinion  prevails  that  Providence  in- 
tended woman  to  occupy  a  place  of  humble 
dependence ;  that  she  is  inferior  in  the  com- 
position of  her  mind  and  fragile  in  physical 


Confi^ecratet)  JlKiaoman^ooD 

constitution  ;  that  she  is  called  of  God  to  lead 
a  life  of  entire  self-abnegation  ;  that  she  was 
created  as  an  everlasting  sacrifice  to  man's 
pleasure  and  ambition  ;  and  that  it  is  her  pe- 
culiar mission  to  be  wife  and  mother  to  an 
extent  to  which  it  is  not  man's  mission  to  be 
husband  and  father.  Lord  Lytton's  dictum 
is  widely  received — "  A  woman's  noblest  sta- 
tion is  retreat."  It  prevails  in  the  State, 
robbing  her  of  civil  rights,  debarring  her 
from  the  exercise  of  popular  suflTrage,  and 
closing  against  her  the  door  of  public  office. 
It  permeates  society,  circumscribing  her  in- 
fluence, dispossessing  her  of  individuality, 
and  preventing  her  from  the  full  and  free  ex- 
ercise of  whatever  taste,  talent  or  genius  God 
has  given  her.  It  is  in  the  church,  forbid- 
ding her  to  enter  the  pulpit,  restraining  her 
from  the  important  offices  of  deacon  and 
trustee,  and,  in  some  churches,  denying  her 
even  a  voice  in  the  ordinary  government  of 
the  society. 

Men  who  advocate  the  subjection  of  wo- 
men plant  themselves  upon  the  Bible  and 
say  to  us,  "  You  radicals  want  to  turn  things 

i8 


Cons^ecrateD  Womanhood 

upside  down.  You  have  no  respect  for  the 
settled  order  of  society.  You  would  destroy 
the  divine  harmony  Heaven  has  established. 
You  set  aside  the  teaching  of  the  great  Apos- 
tle who  said,  *  I  suffer  not  a  woman  to  usurp 
authority.'  "  But  the  Bible  is  always  on  the 
side  of  progress.  Jesus  and  his  immediate 
followers  were  innovators,  agitators  and  lead- 
ers of  public  thought  and  morals.  The  Jews 
quoted  the  Old  Testament  against  them  as 
Southern  preachers  quoted  the  New  Testa- 
ment against  us  when  we  demanded  the  abo- 
lition of  slavery.  We  must  remember  that  it 
is  the  mission  of  the  Bible  to  lead  men  and  not 
to  follow  them.  The  age  that  shall  overtake 
the  New  Testament  will  be  right  in  discarding 
it.  Open  the  Bible — what  does  it  teach  ? 
"  The  genuine  perfection  of  humanity,  in- 
stead of  being  the  forced  obedience  of  one- 
half  to  the  other  half,  is  the  spontaneous 
obedience  of  both  halves  to  the  law  of  God. 
The  incomplete  statement  of  Paul,  ^  I  suffer 
not  a  woman  to  usurp  authority,'  is  supple- 
mented by  the  far  deeper  words  of  Jesus, 
'  Ye  know  that  the  rulers  of  the  Gentiles  lord 


Con^etrateti  Woman^ooD 

it  over  them,  and  their  great  ones  exercise 
authority  over  them.  Not  so  shall  it  be 
among  you :  but  whosoever  would  become 
great  among  you  shall  be  your  minister  ;  and 
whosoever  would  be  first  among  you  shall  be 
your  servant/  (Matthew  xx.  :  25-27,  Re- 
vised Version.)  T!hat  is  the  ideal  of  the  future'^ 
Neither  man  nor  woman  shall  usurp  author- 
ity, but  both,  in  mutual  helpfulness,  shall 
yield  willing  obedience  to  the  perfect  law  of 
God.  A  consecrated  womanhood  is  a  woman- 
hood of  surrender,  not  to  social  prejudices 
and  superstitions,  nor  yet  to  political  disabil- 
ity, but  to  Heaven.  It  is  a  surrender  with- 
out defeat  and  a  victory  without  conquest. 
A  woman  may  dance  a  ballet  or  sing  in  an 
opera,  but  the  moment  she  enters  the  pulpit 
to  preach  a  sermon,  steps  upon  a  platform  to 
deliver  a  lecture,  or  goes  to  the  polls  to  vote, 
society  rises  in  indignation  and  disgust.  If 
a  woman  may  tend  as  a  nurse,  why  may  she 
not  practice  as  a  physician  ?  If  a  woman 
has  a  calling  to  medicine,  divinity,  law,  lit- 
erature, art,  mechanics,  instruction  or  trade, 
what  law  of  God  prohibits?  But  is  it  wise 
ao 


Con^ecrateD  Woman^ooD 

to  open  our  colleges  and  schools  of  science 
to  women  ?  Why  not  ?  Are  they  not  cap- 
able of  receiving  a  liberal  education  ?  The 
part  woman  has  played  in  ancient  and  modern 
history,  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  as  well  as  in 
political  life,  constitutes  not  only  an  answer 
to  the  question,  but  a  positive  demand  for 
admission  to  every  department  of  knowledge 
and  industry.  Open  all  the  doors  and  re- 
move every  barrier.  Subject  girls  to  the 
same  requirements  you  exact  of  boys  in  col- 
leges, but  in  all  justice  and  fairness  set  before 
them  the  same  rewards.  The  best  educators 
tell  us  that  some  of  the  finest  mathematical 
students  are  girls.  They  read  Virgil  and 
Cicero,  Xenophon  and  Homer  as  well  in 
every  way  as  do  young  gentlemen.  In  mixed 
schools  you  will  find,  as  a  general  rule,  more 
girls  than  boys,  and  they  are  found  in  exam- 
ination to  carry  off  the  greatest  proportion  of 
prizes.  Wherever  co-education  has  been 
honestly  and  competently  tried,  girls  have 
shown  themselves  the  intellectual  peers  of 
their  brothers.  They  have  more  than  held 
their  own.     There  have  been  women  every 


Con^etraeet)  OToman^ooD 

whit  as  well  educated  as  the  most  learned  men 
of  their  day,  and  much  better  educated  than 
the  majority  of  men  in  any  age.  When  Eliz- 
abeth was  Queen  of  England  the  languages 
were  an  essential  element  of  a  lady's  educa- 
tion. The  daughters  of  Sir  Anthony  Cooke, 
to  whom  was  committed  the  instruction  of 
the  young  Edward  VI.,  were  thoroughly 
trained  in  both  ancient  and  modern  languages, 
and  in  the  literatures  of  many  lands  and  ages. 
One  of  those  gifted  women  wrote  Latin  verses 
of  great  beauty  ;  another  was,  according  to 
Roger  Ascham,  one  of  the  best  Greek  schol- 
ars of  the  age,  with  the  single  exception  of 
Lady  Jane  Grey  ;  still  another  was  an  accom- 
plished theologian  who  corresponded  in  Greek 
with  Bishop  Jewell.  The  distinguished 
Reiske  affixed  his  wife's  portrait  to  his  ex- 
cellent and  famous  edition  of  "The  Greek 
Orators."  And  in  the  preface  to  that  work 
he  acknowledged  his  great  indebtedness  to 
her  learning  and  industry.  So  well  acquainted 
was  she  with  the  language  and  literature  of 
ancient  Greece,  that  she  shared  with  her  hus- 
band his  most  profound  investigations,  and 


Cons^ecrated  OTomandooD 

read  for  him,  correcting  as  she  read,  the 
proof-sheets  of  his  book  as  they  came  from 
the  press.  There  is  nothing  in  the  consti- 
tution of  awoman*smind  nor  in  the  anatomy 
of  her  body  to  prevent  her  from  following 
the  same  studies  that  occupy  the  time  and 
attention  of  young  men  in  an  ordinary  col- 
lege course.  On  the  contrary,  the  duties  of 
the  class-room  are  often  far  less  fatiguing  than 
those  of  household  labor.  *  I  believe  in  co- 
education. Boys  and  girls  should  be  brought 
up  together  so  far  as  possible.  The  influ- 
ence they  exert  over  each  other  is  in  itself  a 
great  civilizer.     The  separation  of  the  sexes 


*  It  may  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  some  who  read  this  ser- 
mon to  know  who  was  the  first  woman  to  graduate  from  an 
American  college.  In  an  article  on  <<The  First  Female 
College ""  (the  Georgia  Female  College),  in  the  "Century" 
for  May,  1890,  Mr.  H.  S.  Edwards  states  that  he  has  been 
unable  to  obtain  the  name  of  any  woman  who  graduated  at 
Oberlin  in  1838.  An  Oberlin  College  catalogue,  however, 
gives  the  name  of  Miss  Zeruiah  Porter  (afterwards  Mrs. 
Tweed)  as  the  graduate  of  1838,  and  therefore  the  first  grad- 
uate of  an  American  college.  Miss  Porter  graduated  in  the 
so-called  literary  course,  which  did  not  include  Greek.  In 
1841,  Miss  Mary  Hosford,  Miss  Elizabeth  S.  Prall,  and  Miss 
Mary  C.  Rudd  took  the  degree  of  A.  B.  at  Oberlin. 

»3 


Con^ecrateD  Womaniioot) 

in  church,  state,  family  and  school  has  always 
been  productive  of  evil,  and  of  evil  only. 

**The  woman's  cause  is  man's  ;  they  rise  or  sink 
Together,  dwarfed  or  God-like,  bond  or  free." 

Miss  Sophia  Jex  Blake,  whose  opinion 
in  all  questions  connected  with  the  education 
of  women  is  of  great  weight,  has  thus  ex- 
pressed herself  touching  the  subject  of  co- 
education :  "  That  society  is  most  happy 
which  conforms  most  strictly  to  the  order  of 
nature  as  indicated  in  the  family  relation, 
where  brother  and  sister  mutually  elevate 
and  sustain  each  other.  ...  A  school  for 
young  men  becomes  a  community  in  itself, 
with  its  own  standard  of  morality  and  its  laws 
of  honor ;  but  in  a  college  for  both  sexes 
the  student  will  find  a  public  sentiment  not 
so  lenient  as  that  of  a  community  of  asso- 
ciates needing  the  same  indulgence." 

Miss  Blake  elsewhere  answers,  it  seems  to 
me  with  reason  and  justice,  the  oft-repeated 
objection  to  co-education,  founded  upon  the 
imaginary  danger  of  a  too  early  romance  and 
a  hasty  attachment,  followed  by  an  unwise 
and  to-be-repented-of  marriage  : 


Con^ecratetJ  OToman^ooD 

"  There  is  something  in  the  association  of 
every-day  life  which  appeals  to  the  judgment 
rather  than  to  the  fancy,  and  weeks  and 
months  of  steady  labor  over  the  same  prob- 
lems, or  at  the  same  sciences,  will  not  be 
more  likely  to  create  romances  than  casual 
meetings  at  fetes  and  balls." 

But  I  turn  from  the  secular  and  civil  as- 
pect of  the  subject  to  inquire  what  service 
woman  may  render  the  church,  and  here  I 
am  confronted  by  another  question  it  would 
be  difficult  to  answer :  What  service  has  she 
not  rendered  ?  Our  churches,  most  of 
them,  will  not  ordain  her  to  the  ministry, 
and  yet  do  they  not  derive  their  spiritual  life 
from  her  influence  ?  Could  they  exist  with- 
out her  effort  and  faithful  service  ?  Who 
preached  the  first  Christian  sermon,  and  pro- 
claimed to  an  unbelieving  world,  "He  is  risen 
from  the  dead ! "  if  not  the  women  who  ran 
with  great  joy  from  the  empty  sepulcher, 
bearing  with  them  a  license  to  preach  from 
the  Christ  himself,  given  through  the  Angel 
of  the  Resurrection,  who  said,  "  Go  quickly 
and  tell  his  disciples  that  he  is  risen  from 


the  dead,  and  behold  he  goeth  before 
you  into  Galilee ;  there  shall  ye  see  him  ? " 
That  was  a  very  short  sermon  and  had 
no  text,  but  no  pulpit  rhetoric  and  no 
Sunday  oratory  will  ever  eclipse  its  sub- 
lime eloquence.  If  priests  received  their  com- 
mission to  preach  from  the  Apostles,  the 
Apostles  received  theirs  from  the  women 
who  mourned  at  the  sepulcher  and  found  it 
empty.  Women  can  better  afford  to  remain 
out  of  the  pulpit  than  the  pulpit  can  afford 
to  exclude  them.  When  the  Christ  shall  re- 
turn and  His  kingdom  be  established  for- 
ever, the  nations  shall  hear  once  more  the 
old  Easter  sermon  first  preached  by  a  woman, 
"  He  is  risen  from  the  dead  !  "  The  most 
tender  and  faithful  friendship  our  Saviour 
ever  found  in  his  weary  and  painful  pilgrim- 
age upon  earth  burned  in  the  heart  and 
shone  in  the  life  of  a  noble  and  consecrated 
woman. 

*<  Not  she  with  trait' rous  kiss  her  Master  stung, 
Not  she  denied  him  with  unfaithful  tongue  } 
She,  when  Apostles  fled,  could  danger  brave  — 
Last  at  his  cross,  and  earliest  at  his  grave." 

26 


Condecracei)  Woman^ooD 

And  if  the  church  was  cradled  in  the  arms 
of  Mary,  have  not  the  daughters  of  Mary 
been  singing  to  the  child  Jesus  all  along  the 
ages  ?  It  was  Charlotte  Elliott  who  wrote, 
"  Just  as  I  am  without  one  plea,"  and  Mrs. 
Adams  who  gave  the  church  that  immortal 
hymn,  "  Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee."  "  Fade, 
fade,  each  earthly  joy,"  "  I  need  Thee  every 
hour,"  "  Lord,  I  hear  of  showers  of  bless- 
ing," "  I  think  when  I  read  that  sweet  story 
of  old,"  "  I  love  to  tell  the  story,"  and 
"  How  blest  the  righteous  when  he  dies  " — 
all  these  were  written  by  women.  What 
sweet  singers  chant  cradle  hymns  to  the  child 
Jesus — Felicia  D.  Hemans,  Joanna  Baillie, 
Elizabeth  Barrett  Browning,  Harriet  Beecher 
Stowe,  Eliza  Cook,  Mrs.  Baxter,  Mrs.  Cod- 
ver,  Mrs.  Bonar,  Mrs.  Barbauld  and  the 
Cary  sisters.  If  wise  men  came  from  the  East 
with  gold,  frankincense  and  myrrh  for  the 
infant  Redeemer,  wise  women  are  coming 
every  day  from  all  parts  of  the  earth  with 
gifts  of  heavenly  song. 

The  success  of  every  church  depends  in 
large  measure  upon  the  consecration  of  its 
27 


Con^ecrateD  Womani)ooD 

women.  I  never  knew  a  church  in  which  there 
were  not  more  women  than  men;  they  consti- 
tute the  majority  in  every  religious  meeting; 
and  it  would  seem  as  if  fifty  women  go  to 
heaven  for  every  man  who  makes  even  a 
moderate  effort  to  get  there.  It  was  the  ser- 
vice of  faithful  and  active  women  that  saved 
Israel  in  the  hour  of  national  peril.  "  When 
the  men  of  Israel,"  to  employ  the  language 
of  another,  "  bowed  in  helplessness  before 
Pharaoh,  two  women  spurned  his  edicts  and 
refused  his  behests.  A  father  made  no  effort 
to  save  the  infant  Moses,  but  a  mother's  care 
hid  him  while  concealment  was  possible,  and 
a  sister  watched  over  his  preservation  when 
exposed  on  the  river's  brink.  To  woman 
was  intrusted  the  charge  of  providing  for  the 
perils  and  wants  of  the  wilderness ;  and  in 
the  hour  of  triumph  woman's  voice  was  loud- 
est in  the  acclaim  of  joy  that  ascended  to 
heaven  from  an  emancipated  nation."  The 
same  womanly  courage,  patience,  love,  tact 
and  wisdom  must  be  the  hope  and  strength 
of  modern  Israel. 

The  men  who  have  accomplished  most  owe 
28 


Con^ecrateD  Womanliool} 

much  to  woman's  influence.  From  her  coun- 
sel the  hero  derived  his  courage,  and  in 
her  approving  smile  received  his  reward.  The 
great  poems  of  the  world  are,  many  of  them, 
from  her  inspiration.  Blanche  of  Lancaster 
lives  in  the  antique  English  of  Chaucer,  Laura 
in  the  sonnets  of  Petrarch,  and  Beatrice  in 
the  Divina  Commedia  of  Dante  ;  and  who 
can  look  upon  the  marbles  of  Michel  An- 
gelo  and  not  behold  the  influence  of  Vittoria 
Colonna  ?  In  all  literature  there  is  not  a 
nobler  sonnet  addressed  by  man  to  woman 
than  this  which  Michel  Angelo  laid  with 
bowed  heart  and  reverent  hand  at  the  feet  of 
Vittoria  Colonna: 

**  The  might  of  one  fair  face  sublimes  my  love, 
For  it  hath  weaned  my  heart  from  low  desires  j 
Nor  death  I  heed,  nor  purgatorial  fires. 
Thy  beauty,  antepast  of  joys  above. 
Instructs  me  in  the  bliss  that  saints  approve  ; 
For,  oh  !  how  good,  how  beautiful,  must  be 
The  God  that  made  so  good  a  thing  as  thee. 
So  fair  an  image  of  the  heavenly  dove. 
Forgive  me  if  I  cannot  turn  away 
From  those  sweet  eyes  that  are  my  earthly  heaven  j 
For  they  are  guiding  stars,  benignly  given 
To  tempt  my  footsteps  to  the  upward  way  ; 

29 


Cons^etrateD  OTomanl^oot) 

And  if  I  dwell  too  fondly  in  thy  sight, 
I  live  and  love  in  God's  peculiar  light.'* 

John  Stuart  Mill,  dedicating  his  immor- 
tal "  Essay  on  Liberty  "  to  the  memory  of 
his  beloved  wife  whose  earthly  frame  he 
had  laid  to  rest  beneath  the  shades  of  beau- 
tiful Avignon,  described  her  as  "  the  inspirer, 
and  in  part  the  author,  of  all  that  was  best 
in  his  writings."  The  three  "  guardian  an- 
gels "  whom  Comte  associated  with  his  secret 
thoughts,  and  whom  he  enshrined  in  his 
innermost  heart  as  the  sacred  judges  of 
his  every  wish  and  achievement,  were  his 
mother  Rosalie  Boyer,  his  friend  Clotilde  de 
Vaux,  and  his  servant  Sophie  Bliot.  Of 
Madame  de  Vaux  he  wrote  six  years  after  her 
death:  "Adieu,  my  unchangeable  companion ! 
Adieu,  my  holy  Clotilde,  who  art  to  me  at 
once  wife,  sister,  and  daughter  !  Adieu,  my 
dear  pupil,  and  my  fit  colleague.  Thy  celes- 
tial inspiration  will  dominate  the  remainder 
of  my  life,  public  as  well  as  private,  and  pre- 
side over  my  progress  towards  perfection, 
purifying  my  sentiments,  ennobling  my 
thoughts,  and  elevating  my  conduct.  Per- 
30 


Con0ecrateti  WomandooD 

haps,  as  the  principal  reward  of  the  grand 
tasks  yet  left  to  me  to  complete  under  thy 
powerful  invocation,  I  shall  inseparably  write 
thy  name  with  my  own,  in  the  latest  remem- 
brances of  a  grateful  humanity."  The  Taj 
Mahal  which  the  poet  Heber  describes  as  "a 
dream  in  marble,  designed  by  Titans  and  fin- 
ished by  jewellers,"  is  a  tribute  of  love  raised 
over  the  tomb  of  Moomtaza  Mahul  by  her 
husband,  the  great  Mogul,  Shah  Jehan.  She 
died  in  giving  birth  to  a  daughter,  and  her 
last  request  was  that  her  husband  would  hal- 
low in  his  heart  her  love  as  the  solitary  and 
immortal  sanctity  of  his  life.  The  Taj  holds 
directly  under  the  centre  dome,  "gleaming 
like  a  silver  bubble  at  the  edge  of  the  sky, 
almost  as  transparent  in  appearance  as  the 
azure  itself,"  the  tombs  of  Shah  Jehan  and  his 
beloved  wife.  There  the  "  married  lovers  " 
rest,  encased  in  jasper  from  Punjaub,  tur- 
quoises from  Thibet,  agate  from  Yeman,  gar- 
nets from  Bundelkund,  and  onyx,  amethyst 
and  lapis  lazuli ;  and  over  them  a  single  stone 
is  inscribed  with  the  ninety-nine  names  of 
God.     To  this  day  fresh  flowers  are  placed 

31 


Con0ecrateD  Woman^ooD 

upon  the  marble  sarcophagi,  and  above  them 
is  to  be  seen  the  ostrich  egg,  symbol  of  the 
all-encircling  Divine  Providence.  "The 
most  exquisite  building  on  the  globe  "  is  a 
memorial  of  the  love  a  noble  and  beautiful 
woman  inspired  in  the  heart  of  a  devoted 
husband.  Who  shall  measure  the  power  and 
authority  of  woman  in  the  worlds  of  art,  liter- 
ature and  social  life  ?  And  yet,  great  as  is 
her  influence  in  these,  it  is  even  greater  in 
spiritual  matters.  Woman  turns  through  a 
natural  instinct  to  the  field  of  religious  use- 
fulness, and  Renan  is  not  mistaken  when  he 
tells  us  that  she  has  a  special  tendency  to 
"  long  after  the  infinite."  Of  this  Frances 
Power  Cobbe  gives  us  a  forcible  illustration 
in  a  foot-note  to  her  able  essay  on  "  The  Fit- 
ness of  Women  for  the  Ministry  of  Relig- 
ion." The  illustration  is  taken  from  Mrs. 
Kemble*s  autobiography,  and  runs  as  fol- 
lows :  "  She  describes  the  late  Lady  Byron 
as  often  expressing  envy  of  her  (Mrs.  Kem- 
ble's)  public  readings,  and  her  longing  to  have 
similar  crowds  in  sympathy  with  her  own  im- 
pressions. '  I  made  her  laugh,'  says  Mrs. 
3a 


Cons(ecrateD  OTomantiooD 

Kemble,  *  by  telling  her  that  more  than  once 
when  looking  from  my  reading-desk  over  the 
sea  of  faces  uplifted  toward  me,  a  sudden 
feeling  had  seized  me  that  I  must  say  some- 
thing/r^w  myself  to  all  these  human  beings 
whose  attention  I  felt  at  that  moment  en- 
tirely at  my  command,  and  between  whom  and 
myself  a  sense  of  sympathy  thrilled  power- 
folly  and  strangely  through  my  heart  as  I 
looked  steadfastly  at  them  before  opening  my 
lips  ;  but  that  on  wondering  afterwards  what 
I  might,  could,  would  or  should  have  said  to 
them  from  myself,  I  never  could  think  of 
anything  but  two  words — *  Be  good  !  *  "  Miss 
Cobbe  writes :  "  I  believe  that  nine  women 
outof  ten  of  the  better  sort  would,  if  they  had 
the  choice,  oftener  speak  of  duty  and  religion 
than  of  any  other  theme."  Is  not  Goethe 
right  ? 

*«  The  eternal  womanly 
Draws  us  upward  and  onward." 

Great  is  the  power  of  consecrated  woman- 
hood in  domestic  life.  It  has  been  shown  by 
able  writers  that  boys  who  have  sisters,  and 

33 


ConsietraeeD  Woman^ooti 

grow  up  in  their  society,  are  more  likely  to 
develop  into  strong  and  noble  men  than  boys 
who  are  deprived  of  woman's  influence. 
Whatever  separates  man  from  woman  sepa- 
rates both  from  God.  The  great  objection 
urged  against  social  clubs  is  that  they  destroy 
domestic  life  by  isolating  the  sexes  ;  they  fur- 
nish an  amusement  for  the  husband  in  which 
the  wife  cannot  participate.  Open  the  social 
club  to  both  sexes,  and  its  evil  tendency  is 
removed. 

Then  there  is  the  marriage  relation.  How 
many  wedded  lives  come  to  failure  through 
ignorance.  Men  and  women  assume  the 
most  sacred  responsibilities  without  prepara- 
tion, and  with  no  knowledge  of  themselves 
nor  of  each  other.  We  say  in  the  marriage 
service,  "What  God  hath  joined  together  let 
not  man  put  asunder ;"  but  when  God  does 
not  join,  is  there  anything  to  sunder?  Passion 
dies,  novelty  disappears,  youth  fades,  and 
unless  love  be  founded  upon  an  intelligent 
and  mutual  esteem,  shall  it  not  also  crumble? 
It  has  been  said,  "  one  cannot  be  at  once 
lover  and  friend,"  but  you  may  be  sure  one 

34 


Consecrated  Womanl)ooD 

will  not  long  remain  the  former  who  is  not  as 
well  the  latter.  We  need  to  cultivate  friend- 
ship. Passion  will  come  and  go  like  the 
shadows  of  clouds  over  the  smooth  surface 
of  a  lake,  and  no  love  is  abiding  without 
friendship.  He  was  right  who  exclaimed, 
"  They  who  are  joined  by  love  without 
friendship,  walk  on  gunpowder  with  lighted 
torches  in  their  hands !"  They  who  build 
love  upon  the  foundation  of  mutual  esteem — 

«*  Make  life,  death,  and  that  vast  forever 
One  grand,  sweet  song.*' 

How  shall  we  strengthen  love  that  it  may 
endure  when  the  fires  of  youth  and  passion 
are  cold  ?  Only  by  the  cultivation  of  those 
noble  virtues  which  like  bands  of  steel  weld 
together  in  one  life  and  faith  honest  and 
pure  hearts.  How  shall  two  hearts  grow  old 
together  ?  Only  by  the  persistent  cultiva- 
tion of  those  qualities  which  are  ever  young 
and  which  age  not  with  declining  years. 
The  young  man  will  not  be  guilty  of  an  act 
tainted  with  meanness  or  baseness  lest  the 
maiden  he  loves  blot  his  image    from    the 

35 


Consiecratet)  WomanliooD 

pure  heaven  of  her  heart ;  let  the  young 
husband  and  wife  cherish  the  same  fear  and 
honor,  and  they  shall  grow  nearer  and  dearer 
as  the  years  silver  their  brows.  The  happi- 
ness of  marriage  depends  upon  the  very 
highest  and  most  delicate  of  reserves,  the 
most  noble  and  careful  speech,  the  best  and 
most  honorable  perception  ;  upon  a  kindness 
greater  than  that  of  a  mother  to  her  child. 

The  supreme  glory  of  consecrated  woman- 
hood lies  in  the  consecration  itself.  The  love 
of  God  makes  every  other  love  immortal. 
What  love  through  Him  we  give  to  others  is 
forever.  Only  as  we  consecrate  our  lives  to 
the  Divine  Love  can  we  hope  to  become 
heavenly-minded  ;  and  they  only  consecrate 
themselves  to  the  Divine  Love  who,  in  imi- 
tation of  our  Saviour,  give  heart  and  hand  to 
the  service  of  mankind.  There  is  a  fable 
that  four  young  ladies,  disputing  as  to  the 
beauty  of  their  hands,  called  upon  an  aged 
woman  who  had  solicited  alms,  for  a  settle- 
ment of  the  dispute.  The  three  whose  hands 
were  white  and  faultless  had  refused  her  ap- 
peal, while  she  whose  fingers  were  brown  and 
36 


Consecrated  WomanliooD 

rough  had  given  in  charity.  Then  the  aged 
beggar  said :  "  Beautiful  are  these  six  uplifted 
hands,  soft  as  velvet  and  snowy  as  the  lily  : 
but  more  beautiful  are  the  two  darker  hands 
that  have  given  charity  to  the  poor."  Learn 
the  lesson  of  consecrated  womanhood.  In 
olden  times,  when  the  children  of  Israel 
prepared  the  Tabernacle  in  the  wilderness, 
"  all  the  women  that  were  wise-hearted  did 
spin  with  their  hands,  and  brought  that  which 
they  had  spun,  both  of  blue,  and  of  purple, 
and  of  scarlet,  and  of  fine  linen.  And  all 
the  women  whose  heart  stirred  them  up  in 
wisdom  spun  goats*  hair."  The  wise-hearted 
women  of  to-day  are  the  daughters  of  modern 
Israel  who  from  the  love  of  God  serve  faith- 
fully the  great  family  of  mankind. 


)15ook0  b^  t\)t  &umt  ^\xt\)Ot 


"  LAST  WORDS  OF  DISTINGUISHED  MEN  AND 
WOMEN."   Large  Paper  Edition,  with  Portrait  of 
the  Author.    ^.c». 
Popular  Edition.     (Fourth  Edition).    $l.SO. 

"  FLOWERS  OF  SONG  FROM  MANY  LANDS." 
Being   short   poems  and    detached  verses    translated 
from  various  languages.    Large  Paper  Edition  with 
Portrait  of  Author  on  Parchment.     $5.00. 
Popular  Edition.    $2.00. 

"  CHRIST  AMONG  THE  CATTLE."  A  plea  for 
the  kind  and  just  treatment  of  animals.  Third 
Edition.     50c. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
BERKELEY 

Return  to  desk  from  which  borrowed. 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


REC'D  Lit) 

JUN28'64-1 


vUNill9718  5 


PM 


RBTOID  JilS  71-2PKI6^ 


fi£C'DiD  my 


\\' 


^  6  .  ,  -8  PM  9  1 


D  21-100m-9,'47(A5702sl6)476 


yS  0709, 


/^.- 


